


forgotten moments

by Larissa



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Kisses, Memory Loss, Snapshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-27 01:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10799004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larissa/pseuds/Larissa
Summary: The first time Tifa kisses him, it isn’t a kiss at all.Snapshots of Cloud and Tifa's relationship over the course of the game.





	forgotten moments

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a 5+1 kisses fic and turned into something else almost immediately. Whoops.
> 
> I'm not totally happy with how this did come out, but I'd rather post it than keep sitting on it, so.

The first time Tifa kisses him, it isn’t a kiss at all.

It’s a traditional Nibelheim farewell, a faint brush of cheek to cheek to wish one well, and yet Cloud spends the entire bumpy ride down the mountain with his hand pressed to his face as if to keep the warmth of her there. Tifa had barely touched her face to his, flush with embarrassment, but she had ducked forward to bid him off all the same.

It’s three days before Cloud washes his face again, and then only because he’s covered with dirt from the road.

 

* * *

 

Cloud sets her down against one of the pods, gentle as he can. Brushes her hair out of her face. Blood is seeping through her shirt and he can’t tell how deep the wound is, doesn’t have the supplies or the time to tend to it, but he has to make sure she’s okay. He promised.

There’s so much he wishes he could have said to her. So much he can’t, even now. But—

The door opens, and Sephiroth emerges.

Cloud grips Zack’s sword and turns to face him—

 

* * *

 

Tifa doesn’t understand why he’s here, much less how. It doesn’t help that Cloud won’t say anything. There’s something off about him, something that doesn’t sit right. She knows it’s been a long time since she’s seen him, but— was he always this abrupt? Was she imagining it when his eyes went out of focus, as if he wasn’t paying attention to the people in front of him?

She can’t remember. It’s been too long since she saw her childhood friend.

 

* * *

 

The first time Cloud kisses her, he doesn’t.

Deep down, Tifa could see the attraction between him and Aerith a mile away. It made sense. They looked good together. Got on well together too. Aerith could make him open up in a way she couldn’t. Sometimes she even got him to smile, in that sheepish way of his.

Of course it’s Aerith he takes on a date. Of course it’s Aerith he spends his night with. Of course, of course, of course.

It’s fine, Tifa tells herself. She’s happy for them.

 

* * *

 

Cloud presses his lips to Aerith’s cold hand and Tifa has to swallow back a sob because this isn’t supposed to be _happening_ , it’s not possible, it can’t be real and she can’t watch this, she can’t.

Cloud lets go. Aerith’s body sinks, deeper, deeper. Each ripple feels like another stab. _You failed, you failed, you failed._

_She’s gone_.

 

* * *

 

Someone’s hand is on hers. Large. Warm. Familiar. Her father? No, her father is gone. Taken by Sephiroth. She knows that. Cloud? No, he’s… He’s gone. Swallowed up by the mako. By Sephiroth.

It’s Barret. Barret, watching over her the way he always has.

And outside, in the sky...

Tifa wakes to the end of the world and wishes she hadn’t.

 

* * *

 

She threads her fingers through his hair. Touch helps, the nurse says. Touch, sight, sound. Smell, if possible, but there is nothing in the tropics to remind her of home. She tries to ground him in reality as he keens, listening to a million voices she cannot hear.

Tifa presses her cheek to his, a faint reminder of a forgotten moment. Cloud doesn’t respond.

 

* * *

 

There are so many pieces here, pieces of a puzzle that come together in some jagged whole and (it’s not him but) he wants to remember, wants to be… what?

She guides him, follows him, gets lost in his mind and he wonders why she would go so far, why she would do so much for him. What did he ever do for her?

Who is she?

Who is he?

 

* * *

 

The first time Cloud kisses Tifa, there is a part of him that wonders if she will pull away.

It isn’t as though he wouldn’t deserve it. He’s put her through more than anyone could imagine. That she’s remained by his side this long is nothing short of a miracle. If it weren’t for Tifa, he wouldn’t know who he was— would barely even know who she was. Here and now, as they prepare to face Sephiroth, he wouldn’t blame her for leaving him to fight alone.

The second time, she kisses him, and he stops wondering.


End file.
